shy. Reserved was an extinct term around here.
He was used to women throwing themselves at him, in pursuit of either a relationship or something far hotter.
It was just the way of the world these days.
But truth be told, it wasn’t really Dan’s world. It wasn’t really the family values his grandmother had brought him up with. They, in themselves, were almost laughable. His mother certainly hadn’t had any family values—no matter what her family had taught her. And that had reflected badly on Dan.
His grandmother had patched him up, fought fiercely for him and his mother’s name was never mentioned in the house again.
And that was fine with him. For years she haunted his dreams most nights anyway.
But Carrie McKenzie, with her too-blue eyes and quiet nature, was slowly but surely getting under his skin in a way no other woman had.
It was clear there were some aspects of life they disagreed on. But did that mean it would be pointless to pursue anything else? Dan wasn’t sure. He still had his own demons to deal with. And the situation with Abraham was only heightening a whole host of emotions he’d buried for so long.
His stomach grumbled loudly just as Carrie burst back through the door, wearing a pink shirt and jeans, her hair tied up in a loose knot. She laughed at the sound of his stomach. ‘You called?’
He nodded at her hands that were clutched to her chest holding a jar of lemon marmalade. ‘It’s getting to the stage I won’t even fight you about the toast and marmalade. You’ve starved me so long I’m ready to concede.’ He walked over to the crib and laid Abraham back down.
She strode over to the toaster and slid the last of the bread into place. ‘I’ll concede on one thing. I’ll make you coffee instead of tea—but only since you had such a bad night. I might make some scones this afternoon and make you drink tea, then.’
He felt his ears literally prick up. The cupboards’ supplies were getting low—even though it had only been a few days. The cakes yesterday had been a real boost. Scones today? Even better.
‘I’ve never really had the scone things. What do you have them with?’
She shrugged. ‘It should be jam and cream, but jam and butter will do. Do you want fruit scones or plain?’
He rolled his eyes upwards. ‘I take it bacon’s not an option?’ He smiled at the horrified expression on her face. ‘You’ve got a secret stash of dried fruit up there, too?’
She put her hand on her hip and gave him a sassy look. ‘I’ve got a whole host of things you know nothing about up there.’
He let out a stream of air through his lips. ‘Woman, you’re going to drive me crazy.’
The toast popped behind her and she started spreading butter and marmalade, pulled out two plates and mugs and finished making breakfast in record time.
It was almost as if Abraham had an inbuilt antenna. As soon as Carrie’s backside hovered above the chair he started to grizzle in his crib. She glanced at the clock. ‘When did he have his last feed?’
Dan looked at his watch. ‘I think it was around four. This little guy is like clockwork. He couldn’t possibly let it go any more than four hours.’
‘It must be my turn to feed him. Let me make up a bottle.’ She picked out the bottle and teat from the sterilising solution and measured out the formula. ‘I wish we could get some more of the ready-made formula. It’s so much easier.’ She peered into the contents of the formula tub. ‘How many bottles does this make? I know it’s only a small can but it seems to be going down mighty quickly.’ She turned back to face him.
Dan wasn’t listening. He was staring at the toast and lemon marmalade as if it had sprouted legs and run across the floor.
‘Dan? Dan? What’s wrong.’
He took another bite of the toast. ‘This is much nicer than I remember. Or maybe it’s just that I’m so hungry that I would eat anything.’ He stared at the toast. ‘I always thought marmalade was—you know—yeuch.’ He let a shiver go down his spine. ‘I don’t remember it tasting like this.’
She gave him a smile. ‘It’s one of my secrets. You probably had orange marmalade as a child. I don’t like it, either. This is much nicer, made with lemons. I brought it with me from London.’
He narrowed his eyes. ‘Where do you keep the jar?’
She tapped the side of her nose. ‘Aha, that’s a secret. You’ll never make me tell.’
‘Never?’ He stood up, his chair skidding across the floor and his hands on her hips in an instant. She could hardly even remember him crossing the space.
Oh, no. Those come-to-bed eyes again. The kind that gave her ideas she really shouldn’t be having at this time of day.
He didn’t wait. He didn’t ask. He just claimed her lips as his own. His hand coming up and cupping her cheek. There was an element of ownership in his actions.
But the strange thing was, instead of being annoying, it sent little sparks of heat all the way down to the tips of her toes.
The past year had been lonely. The past year had been more than lonely. The past year had been dark and bleak and, at times, scary.
Sometimes she felt as if the black cloud around her would never lift, no matter how hard she tried.
For the first time she was feeling something other than despair. Other than hopelessness.
Maybe her senses were overreacting. Maybe it had just been too long since she’d been in a position like this, where her hormones couldn’t keep themselves in check.
All she knew was she wanted Daniel Cooper’s lips on hers. She wanted Daniel Cooper pressed up against her. She wanted to feel his arms around her body, touching her skin, stroking her cheek...
She wound her arms around his neck as his hands found their way to the bare skin at the small of her back. Would his fingers creep any lower? Or any higher? She wasn’t quite sure which way she wanted them to go.
There was a howl from the corner of the room and they jerked apart instantly.
Baby. There was a baby in the room. She made to move towards the crib. ‘Don’t. I’ll do it,’ he said, his hands still pressed firmly against her hips.
‘But you did all of last night.’ She touched his shoulder. ‘You’re exhausted, Dan. You really should get some sleep.’
He nodded. ‘And I will, as soon as you’ve eaten. You haven’t had a chance yet. Finish breakfast, then come and take over from me.’
She eyed her toast with oodles of butter and marmalade and her steaming-hot cup of tea. How long would it take her? Five minutes? Then she could take over from Dan for a good part of the day.
From the shadows under his eyes it was clear that he needed a few hours’ sleep. Could she cope with Abraham on her own for a few hours?
No
